At BRICS, India's Modi warns geopolitical tensions and supply chain
shocks threaten global stability
[September 14, 2026] By
AIJAZ HUSSAIN and SHEIKH SAALIQ
NEW DELHI (AP) — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday warned
that rising geopolitical tensions, supply chain disruptions and climate
crises are increasingly affecting people worldwide and called for
strengthened cooperation and support across the Global South.
Addressing the BRICS summit of leading developing nations on its second
day in New Delhi, Modi also warned that the “weaponization of technology
and critical minerals” could hinder global development and shared
prosperity.
Founded in 2006 by Brazil, Russia, India and China, BRICS has expanded
to 11 members representing about half the world’s population and a
significant share of global economic output. It has sought greater
representation for developing countries in global institutions and
promoted alternatives to Western-dominated financial systems.
“The number of conflicts and tensions in the world is continuously
increasing, and this is having an increasingly negative and far-reaching
impact on the lives of ordinary people,” Modi said, alongside bloc
leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President
Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
“Pandemics, climate disasters and supply-chain disruptions have shown
that in today’s interconnected world, no crisis remains confined to a
single region,” Modi said, while announcing that the bloc agreed to
establish an integrated early warning system for infectious diseases,
aimed at boosting preparedness and response to future outbreaks.
In his closing remarks at the summit, Modi urged the bloc nations to
convert the summit’s agreements into tangible and time-bound action and
move them from “files to real-life impact.”
The discussions over the past two days, he said, reinforced the belief
that “BRICS is not merely a group of countries, but an ecosystem of
solutions.” He wished China success as it takes over the BRICS chair for
the next term.
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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi attends a session of the BRICS
Plus Outreach format in New Delhi, India, on Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026.
(Alexander Kazakov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
 The group in a joint declaration
Saturday had expressed concern over escalating tensions in the
Middle East and Sudan, and called for disputes to be resolved
through dialogue and diplomacy.
The bloc reiterated support for a multipolar world order and reforms
to the United Nations, including its Security Council, as well as
global financial institutions such as the World Bank and the
International Monetary Fund.
The leaders opposed unilateral sanctions and coercive economic
measures and criticized sanctions not authorized by the U.N. They
also criticized rising tariffs and nontariff barriers, saying they
undermine global trade and supply chains.
The bloc backed greater use of local currencies in trade and
stronger cross-border payment systems, while calling for cooperation
on food security, energy, digital infrastructure, artificial
intelligence and climate action.
The declaration was a significant breakthrough, as forging consensus
among Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — which hold
competing positions on key regional and geopolitical issues — posed
a complex diplomatic challenge amid ongoing conflicts and heightened
tensions.
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